REVIEW: Flirting with Fire by Jane Porter

In Flirting with Fire by Jane Porter, When Margot Hughes gave up touring the country with a Broadway revue after two and a half decades in theater, she could think of nothing but going home to California. Now working in a real estate office her good friend Sally owns, Margot finally feels like herself again. Managing an office might not be as exciting as acting, but at forty-nine years old, she’s ready to settle down and possibly have the family she’s always dreamed of. But considering her last relationship with a playwright who broke her heart, Margot’s decided she doesn’t want to get involved with anyone in the acting world again. Then she meets TV star Max Russo. And she gets talked into directing as well as costarring with him in Cambria’s theater production of Barefoot in the Park. Sparks fly immediately. Soon Margot is head over heels for hunky Max before realizing they want very different things for their future–and she’s not sure they can find a compromise that will make them both happy.

“Have you never seen Stardust Ranch?” he asked.
“Only part of one episode.”
“That’s okay. I actually feel better knowing you haven’t seen my butt yet.”
“Guess it’s time I caught up on the show,” she said lightly…
“That’s not necessary. I can just show you a butt cheek sometime this summer and save you hours of time.”

Max is trying hard to enjoy the fame he’s worked so many years for. And while his career is taking off into the stratosphere, his personal life has seen better days. At forty-five, he thought he’d have put his rocky past behind him and would have settled down with a good woman. But Hollywood isn’t necessarily the place to find or keep a stable relationship. When Max gets the call that his dear friend Sally had a heart attack, he rushes to California to see her. And somehow, he gets rooked into starring in a local theater production. But it’s his co-star Margot who intrigues Max. She’s his ultimate dream woman. The fact that she’s a superb actress is a happy bonus. As they explore their newfound romance, though, he quickly realizes they have some hurdles to overcome. It’s a good thing he’s every bit as tenacious as sweet Margot is when it comes to what he wants.

‘Margot’s heart had healed something inside of him, and tonight, taking the stage, he could see the world in 3D. His body hummed. His pulse pounded. He didn’t think life had ever been better, bigger, or brighter.’

Flirting with Fire was mature romance at its finest. Filled with complicated pasts, real-life issues, and a love so grand it couldn’t be contained or ignored, author Jane Porter will wring every last emotion out of readers with this heartfelt story.

“Love is always just around the corner.”

Content Warning: View Spoiler »Child abuse & neglect, drug use, drug overdose leading to death (detailed), cheating (historical). « Hide Spoiler

Oh, did Jane Porter’s writing voice *shine* in Flirting with Fire. It was a mature contemporary romance (main characters were in their mid to late forties) that carried a whole lot of heat as well as heart. There was a bit of well-placed angst. There were poor decisions made in very realistic ways. And the characters faced numerous challenges–personally as well as professionally. But at the core of it, Flirting with Fire was a story of love and family, and of finding the place we’re meant to be in life.

Set in the same sunny California area as the other books in Porter’s Modern Love series, this can be read as a standalone with no problem. But if you *have* read either Flirting with Fifty or Flirting with the Beast, then you’ve already met Margot. And likely got a kick out of her passion for life, good nature, and dedication to her friends and family. And it’s that loyalty that found Margot agreeing with her boss–and close friend–Sally to direct and co-star in a local play with handsome TV star Max Russo.

It was so interesting to see Margot, who had given up acting after spending twenty-five years traveling the country performing Broadway plays, work and fall in love with Max, an actor at the height of his career. Being in the same profession, albeit different platforms, meant Margot and Max understood each other on a level that most people wouldn’t. They didn’t have the same level of fame. But they knew the acting business. And they knew the pitfalls actors face as well as the rush they get from performing. Margot certainly understood that going into a relationship with Max would be challenging when he traveled to different filming locations. Between that and wanting different things for their future, the couple had their work cut out for them.

Max and Margot’s mutual friend Sally was one of my favorite characters. And she really was a *character*–never telling her true age (sixty something? seventy something?), falling for “pretty guys” at the drop of a hat, and encouraging the women she knew to live life to the absolute fullest. Sally is the one who not only introduced Margot and Max to each other, but I think was the one to steer them on the right course. The spunky elder had her own romance as a subplot which was fun after the seriousness of her initial health crisis. But it was the wisdom and care she gave to Max and Margot–and everyone around her, really–that made me adore her.

QOTD: Does your town/city have a local theater group? If so, have you been to any performances?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: July 25th, 2023 | by Berkley | Modern Love #3

Love isn’t just an act in this captivating and flirty romance by New York Times bestselling author Jane Porter.

Forty-nine-year-old Margot Hughes has lived and breathed theater for the past twenty-five years. After a devastating breakup with her playwright fiancé, she wants nothing to do with the industry. She has sworn off New York, theater, actors—all of it. She returns to her hometown on California’s central coast and takes a job in real estate, where she manages significant investment properties. But Margot’s suddenly thrown back into the theater world when Sally, her friend and boss, who had been restoring and funding Cambria’s historic theater, has a heart attack. Before she knows it, Margot is tapped to take over the troubled summer production of Barefoot in the Park .

But the play is no walk in the park—the leads and director have all quit, and Margot struggles to find new actors…until Max Russo arrives. Forty-five-year-old Max is a former soap opera star turned rugged cowboy on TV’s most popular western series. Max has a huge following and is the perfect hero to step up and save the play, provided Margot stars opposite him. Although adamant she would never return to theater, Margot enjoys the long hours of rehearsal with a professional like Max, who is charming, witty, and passionate. But when the curtains close, can Margot allow herself to fall for Max when he represents everything she left behind?